Reinforced metal/plastic composite front panel for a motor vehicle

ABSTRACT

The invention concerns a front panel comprising a plastic frame reinforced by a top metal section extending over the whole width of the panel and provided with structure for fixing it to the vehicle structural elements. The section is a directly mounted section and force-fitted on a crosspiece of the plastic frame, both the section and the crosspiece comprising mutually fitting structure and co-operating elements for crimping the section on the crosspiece.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a metal/plastic composite front panelfor a motor vehicle.

Such a panel is a structural element of the vehicle capable ofincorporating various items of equipment of the vehicle such asheadlamps, direction indicators, horn, heat exchanger, electric fan unitor entire cooling module, etc.

The front panel, provided in this manner with these items of equipment,forms a single-unit assembly prepared and delivered by the equipmentsupplier, which is ready to be mounted on the vehicle by themanufacturer.

The mounting of this module is performed by connection to lateralstructural elements of the vehicle such as side members, wings orbody-frame, then positioning a bumper or a front shield mounted on themodule.

As a panel structure which is made entirely of plastic material does notenable the safety requirements of crash tests to be complied with, forthe structure of the front panel it is necessary to combine elementsmade of plastic material (for lightness and low manufacturing cost) andmetal elements (for mechanical strength). The method that is currentlyused consists in deep-drawing a metal sheet to form a section which isthen mounted on a plastic support by screwing or rivetting fixingsleeves.

One of the drawbacks of this method is an increase in the weight of thefront panel, owing to the double thickness of metal+plastic at the levelof the metal reinforcing section.

Moreover, the assembly of the reinforcing section by screwing orrivetting accordingly adversely affects the manufacturing cost of thepanel.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One of the objects of the invention is to remove this drawback, byproposing a front panel structure that is both made lighter andreinforced, and which may be produced in accordance with the simplestand most economical possible process.

The panel of the invention is a composite panel of the known typecomprising a frame of plastic material reinforced by an upper metalsection extending over the whole width of the panel and provided withmeans for fixing it to structural elements of the vehicle.

According to the invention, the section is a section mounted andforce-fitted onto a crosspiece of the plastic frame, whereas the sectionand crosspiece comprise mutual fitting means and cooperating elementsthat enable the section to be crimped onto the crosspiece.

According to various advantageous subsidiary characteristics:

the section is a section with an open cross-section having a generalU-shaped section;

the cooperating elements comprise noses formed on the crosspiece, thesenoses being capable of locking the section onto the crosspiece bycooperating with a longitudinal edge, flanged by crimping inwardstowards the noses, of one of the branches of the U of the section;

the fitting means comprise shoulders formed on the crosspiece, theseshoulders being capable of guiding the section whilst it is being fittedonto the crosspiece by cooperating with a longitudinal edge, flangedoutwards towards the shoulder, of one of the branches of the U of thesection;

the crosspiece cooperates with the section by vertical ribs formed onsaid crosspiece, these ribs having an outer contour matching the innercontour of the section;

the panel also comprises a vertical metal central jamb, integral withthe crosspiece and provided with means for fixing it to a bonnet lock,and this jamb is joined to the section at the site of the means forfixing the jamb to the bonnet lock, the jamb preferably being joined tothe section by the other of the said branches of the U;

the section is formed from a punched and deep-drawn sheet;

the crosspiece and/or the section are capable of receiving a bundle ofelectrical cables and/or a cable for the mechanical control of a bonnetlock.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description of an exemplified embodimentbelow, given by reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a front panel according to the invention in a frontperspective view.

FIG. 2 is a section through a vertical plane along line II—II of FIG. 1

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the detail marked III on FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

On the figures, the reference 10 generally designates the front panelaccording to the invention, which essentially comprises a frame 12 madeof plastic material, comprising in particular vertical posts 14 and atransverse element or crosspiece 16 joining these posts at the upperpart.

The frame 12 is made from a suitable thermosetting or thermoplasticsynthetic material, for example a glass-fibre reinforced polyamide (ofcourse, this choice is in no way restrictive) moulded, for example, byinjection under pressure.

This frame 12 comprises, in a manner known per se, structural parts suchas 18 capable of receiving headlamp units or such as 20 for attachmentto the beam of the shield or of the bumper. The crosspiece 16 comprisesa seat 22 for a bonnet lock, as well as stiffening elements such as ribs24 (FIG. 2) oriented perpendicularly to the direction of the crosspiece16.

The panel 10 also comprises a transverse metal section 26 extending overthe length of the crosspiece 16 of the plastic frame and provided at itsends with holes 28 for fixing to side members or wings of the vehicle,so as to guarantee the mechanical strength of the body-frame of thelatter. This section may, for example, be produced by deep-drawing asheet, so as to give it the desired profile.

The panel also comprises another metal element, i.e. a central jamb 30comprising at its lower free end a hole 32 for fixing it to the beam ofthe shield or of the bumper of the vehicle. At its other end, the jamb30 is provided with means (not represented) intended to cooperate withthe lock of the bonnet of the vehicle which will be placed in the seat22. With the bonnet closed, the jamb 30 will thus ensure the mechanicalconnection between the bonnet and the shield to contribute to theoverall rigidification of the structure of the vehicle.

This jamb 30 is mounted onto the frame 12 by passing it in a hole 34(FIG. 2) provided for this purpose, so as to apply it against the frontpart of the section 16, to which it will be fixed at 36, as well as tothe bonnet lock, by any suitable known means.

In a manner that is characteristic of the invention, the section 26 is aU-shaped section comprising (FIG. 2) a central part 38 and two wings 40and 42. This section is mounted on the crosspiece 15 by simply fittingonto the latter. To achieve this, a forwardly directed projecting edge44 of the section 26 (FIG. 3) is inserted under a shoulder 46 formed forthis purpose on the crosspiece 16. Then the section is flanged, in thedirection of the arrow of FIG. 3, onto the crosspiece 16 until it comesto rest against the upper edge of the ribs 24. The section is held inthis position, illustrated in FIG. 2, by means of a longitudinal edge 48which is flanged by crimping so as to be turned inwards. Thislongitudinal edge 48 comes to cooperate with the matching projectingnoses 50 formed on the ribs 24.

The attachment of the section 26 onto the crosspiece 16 may be completedby the attachment at 36, which thus punctiformly interlocks, in thefollowing order: the bonnet lock, the section 26, the front part of thecrosspiece 16 and the upper part of the jamb 30, this attachmentenabling all these parts to be interconnected.

It will be noted that, owing to the fact that the section 26 rests onthe upper edge of the ribs 24, the thickness of the panel at this placeis only formed by the thickness of the section 26.

Thus, in contrast to the prior art in which the thickness of the plasticis doubled by that of the metal section, the omission of the thicknessof plastic material at this place enables accessibility to thecrosspiece 16 to be increased before the mounting of the section 26.

Thus an electric harness or a cable for controlling the lock of thebonnet, or also other components, can be more easily integrated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A metal/plastic composite panel for a motorvehicle, comprising a frame made of plastic material reinforced by a topmetal section, extending over the width of the panel and provided withmeans for fixing it to structural elements of the vehicle, wherein thesection is mounted and force-fitted onto a crosspiece of the plasticframe, and wherein the section and the crosspiece comprise mutualfitting means and cooperating elements which enable the section to becrimped onto the crosspiece.
 2. A panel according to claim 1, whereinthe section has an open cross-section having a generally U-shapedsection.
 3. A panel according to claim 2, wherein the section has aU-shape having a pair of opposed branches the cooperating elementscomprise noses formed on the crosspiece, said noses being capable oflocking the section onto the crosspiece by cooperating with alongitudinal edge, flanged by crimping inwards towards the noses, of oneof the branches of the U of the section.
 4. A panel according to claim1, wherein the fitting means comprise shoulders formed on thecrosspiece, the shoulders being capable of guiding the section while itis being fitted onto the crosspiece by cooperating with a longitudinaledge, flanged outwards towards the shoulder, of one of the branches ofthe U of the section.
 5. A panel according to claim 2, wherein thecrosspiece cooperates with the section by vertical ribs formed on saidcrosspiece, the ribs having an outer contour matching the inner contourof the section.
 6. A panel according to claim 1 comprising a verticalmetal central jamb, integral with the crosspiece and provided with meansfor fixing it to a bonnet lock, wherein the jamb is joined to thesection at the site of the means for fixing the jamb to the bonnet lock.7. A panel according to claim 3, wherein the jamb is joined to thesection by the other of the branches of the U.
 8. A panel according towherein the section is formed from a punched and deep-drawn sheet.
 9. Apanel according to claim 1, wherein the crosspiece and/or the sectionare capable of receiving a bundle of electric cables and/or a cable forthe mechanical control of a bonnet lock.
 10. A panel according to claim2, wherein the fitting means comprise shoulders formed on thecrosspiece, the shoulders being capable of guiding the section while itis being fitted onto the crosspiece by cooperating with a longitudinaledge, flanged outwards towards the shoulder, of one of the branches ofthe U of the section.
 11. A panel according to claim 3, wherein thefitting means comprise shoulders formed on the crosspiece, the shouldersbeing capable of guiding the section while it is being fitted onto thecrosspiece by cooperating with a longitudinal edge, flanged outwardstowards the shoulder, of one of the branches of the U of the section.12. A panel according to claim 6, wherein the jamb is joined to thesection by the other of the branches of the U.